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I'm the original owner of a 15-year old house that's about to get a new Trane heat pump/air handler system. Is ordering a duct cleaning a good idea prior to installing the new system or a waste of money?

i use to work for a company that did duct cleaning rotobrush to be exact and i was not impressed at all. i'm not knocking anyone's company and may get someone on here that does this and get's angry but like bolton said most dirt is in the return and in you'r old a/h...furnace. save you're money for a uv light and electronic filter trane calls them perfect fit air cleaner.

Sure you can get your ducts cleaned and it is not a bad idea to get all the refuse out of the ductwork since the house was built. Alot of it depends on the pro you have do the cleaning it. I have met some realy good service tech's that work for some crappy companies. Just take the time to check out their referances from actual customers.
Cleaning your ducts will offer you a cleaner system and less prolems with dirty coils or lack of air flow due to dirty filters. Your new system will prrobibly move more air than the older system dredging up dirt that you may not have even thought you had before. Thus filters become dirty faster! The best thing you can do as a home owner is to change your filters religiously!!
It would be a good idea to replace the flex duct work where ever possible and replace it with solid ducting. Flex ducting will rob your system of airflow that maybe needed.
If you do decide to ductvac your system be sure to seal your system with a good mastic and reinsulate. And I also agree that the majority of your dirt is in the return. The truth is in the pudding.
A electronic air cleaner is a good choice as a filtering system if there are people in the house with alergies but my money is on 4" pleated media filters with a MERV rating of 8 to 10. Electronic air cleaners will let small particulates through it after being sterilized so then you have sterile dust. They do not eliminate dusting.
UV lights are a good idea to help out in germicidle prolems, Just be aware that the light will have to be replaced periodically and they are not that cheap yet. The light can even damage any plastic drain pans in coils, electrical wires and I have even witnessed damage to insulation near the light. I believe it breaks down the binders that hold the insulation together, But that is only my theory on the insulation. There is even mention to UV light damaging flexable ductwork. If you get one of these have it in an accessable area that it will not deteriorate anythng but what you want it to... germs, algies and the like. And easy access to change the bulbs. If you use a pleated media filter in conjunction with a UV light. be sure that the filter is rated to handle the UV...

Forget the duct cleaning. The only thing that really needs cleaning on a ac system is the evap coil and since that will be new then just make sure you have a high efficiency filter system on the return air plenum and your set provided you have a good duct design.

Have your installing contractor quote you an F-200 http://content.honeywell.com/yourhom...aners/f200.htm and have it mounted on the return side of the air handler.
You have a top line HVAC system being installed, now the next step is to protect it!
If the air handler isn't readily accesable, ask about the Honeywell F-40 that mounts into the return air filter grill.